FThis article is machine translated from english
What is the ‘Collect input and feedback’ method?
Collecting input and feedback is the core participation method on the Go Vocal platform.
It allows you to:
Gather ideas or questions from residents (bottom‑up input)
Share options generated by your team and collect feedback (top‑down input)
Inputs can be displayed in two ways:
List view: A scrollable, filterable list of inputs (with options for voting, commenting, and sorting)
Map view: Inputs pinned to locations for geospatial context
Feed view: inputs are groups in main themes in post-it design
The method is fully customizable, from what you call inputs (“ideas,” “options,” “questions,” etc.), to how they’re collected, displayed, and sorted.
For a more in-depth guide on map-specific capabilities on our platform, see our article:
Choosing how to collect and display inputs
List view
Features of the List view:
Best for general idea collection, option feedback, and discussions
Supports thumbs up/down voting and comments
Ideal when location isn’t relevant
Setting up the List view:
go to Phase Set up tab
scroll down to Available View section
select the Cards option
Map view
Features of the Map view:
Best for geographically specific input (e.g. urban planning, mobility)
Users pin ideas directly on a map
Supports adding map layers for context (e.g. zones, infrastructure)
Setting up the Map view:
go to Phase Set up tab
scroll down to Available View section
select the Map option
⚠️ The location question in the input form must remain enabled for map view to work. When you put the question on optional and users don’t fill in the location question, no pin on the map will appear.
Feed View
Features of the Feed view:
Best for large amount of inputs collected and a need to group ideas in themes in real-time. The feed works best when a project receives more than 50 contributions.
💡 Topics are not generated until a project reaches 10 contributions. The feed view itself is available from day one.
Users can easily browse through the main themes, sub-themes and the individual submissions within it and can comment on start discussions on any of them.
This helps both residents and administrators make sense of large-scale participatory data, allowing for better engagement and decision-making
Setting up the Feed view:
go to Phase Set up tab
scroll down to Available View section
select the Feed option
Set up the themes/sub-themes analysis as described below
Setting Up Themes/Sub-themes Analysis for the Feed View:
Go to Project Settings:
Navigate to the General tab.
Go to the Input Tag Tab.
Choose How Themes/Sub-themes Should Be Created:
Automatic AI Theme Creation:
Delete existing default tags, as the AI will create accurate input tags for you automatically
Enable Auto-tagging by toggling it on.
Remove the Tags question type from the input form:
Go to Timeline tab > Click on phase > Input Form tab > Edit Input Form > Delete Tags question.
Manual Creation of Topics:
Add or edit your themes/sub-themes by adjusting the current tags list.
Ensure the Tags question type is added to the input form:
Go to Timeline tab > Click on phase > Input Form tab > Edit Input Form > Ensure Tags question is included.
⚠️ Auto-tagging and the feed view are independent — contributions will be tagged even if the feed view is turned off.
How ideas are organized
The feed uses a two-level structure to organize contributions:
Topics — broad themes generated automatically from the contribution data
Subtopics — more specific problem framings within each topic, each framed as a question (e.g. "How should parks be maintained?" or "Where should new green space be created?")
Each contribution is assigned to one topic and one subtopic automatically. Admins and project managers can manually override any assignment at any time.
How contributions are surfaced — and why it's not a popularity ranking
Unlike sorting by votes or likes — which amplifies what's already popular — the feed is designed to surface a representative sample of the full conversation. The order and selection of contributions within each cluster is controlled by a sampling algorithm that weights four factors:
Recency — recent contributions are surfaced more prominently
Engagement — contributions that have received reactions get a signal boost
Diversity — a spread of different viewpoints is ensured within each cluster, not just the most popular ones
Wise voices — contributions from community members whose profile signals lived experience or relevant background are weighted more heavily
Community members can navigate by topic and subtopic but cannot manually re-sort the feed by likes or recency. This is intentional — the goal is to show the full landscape of input, not just what went viral.
What residents can see and do
The feed view is transparent by default. Residents can browse all non-moderated contributions organized by topic and subtopic, see reaction counts, and read author names (unless the project is configured for anonymous submissions). They can react to individual contributions and submit their own idea.
What they cannot see: who reacted to which contribution, back-office tags or admin notes, and contributions that have been moderated or deleted.
Residents cannot move contributions between topics, suggest new topics, or rename existing ones — the organizing happens automatically in the background.
How conflicting ideas are handled
The feed doesn't resolve disagreements — it surfaces them. When contributions express opposing views on the same topic, the clustering algorithm groups them together under the same subtopic because they share the same underlying concern, even if the proposed solutions differ. Decision-makers can then see the full range of perspectives within a theme, including contradictions and tensions. The algorithm does not take a position on which view is correct, nor does it weight one side more than the other based on volume alone.
How to customize the input experience?
Choosing input terminology
Phrase participation in the right tone (e.g. “Submit a question” vs. “Post an idea”)
You can find the terminology in your Phase settings → Setup → What should an input be called?
Default name: Idea
Alternatives: Option, Project, Question, Issue, Contribution, Proposal, Initiative, Petition, Comment, Response, Suggestion, Topic, Post, Story
Customizing the input form
You can find the form in your Phase settings → Input form → Edit input form
Default fields:
Title (always required, cannot be removed)
Custom fields:
Add extra questions (visible to admins/project managers only).
Drag and drop text, images, or videos to add context before submission.
⚠️ For map consultations, do not remove the Location question, this ensures location data is collected.
Configure sorting and filtering of inputs
Sorting options include:
Most liked (vote ratio)
Most discussed (comment count)
Trending (votes, engagement, recency)
Random (daily shuffle)
New (latest submissions)
Old (earliest submissions)
Status (proposed, reviewed, implemented, etc.)
Tags (with visible counters)
💡 Admins can set a default sorting method; users can change it via dropdown.
⚠️ Custom manual ordering is not possible.
Similar idea detection
When users start typing a title or description, similar existing ideas are shown
This nudges users to engage in an existing discussion rather than posting duplicates
Users can still submit their idea, this feature simply prompts reflection
To activate: toggle
Similar Input Detectionin the Phase settings
Access rights for collecting input
Deciding what actions users can take
Go to your phase Setup tab and scroll down to “Actions for users”. Here you can toggle whether participants can submit posts, comments, or react (like/dislike).
Optionally disable dislikes or set vote limits per participant
If for example you toggle off “submitting posts” then normal users will see a button 'see ideas' instead 'submit idea' on the project page. Be aware that as an Admin or Project manager you will still see “submit ideas” because you are excluded from all these settings. You will still be able to submit inputs or comments even if it’s toggled off. Admins and Project managers can still add submissions after a phase has ended.
Deciding who can take those actions
In the phase Phase access and user data tab you can decide who is able to take the actions you set in the phase Setup tab. Only the options of actions users can take that you have turned on in the phase Setup tab will appear in the Phase access and user data tab for you to decided who can take those actions.
Who can submit inputs? Which users can add ideas
Who can comment? Which users can add comments on ideas
Who can react? Which users can like or dislike ideas
Who can sign up for events? Which users can register for events linked to a phase
For full details, see our article Understanding Access Rights.